50¢
Primarily serving Pataskala and surrounding areas
‘Preferred last line’
‘Etna’ appearing as default postal address
July 3, 2011
Licking Heights
FIREFIGHTING FUN
School board approves annual budget
By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The “preferred last line” mailing program adopted by Etna Township earlier this year has become effective, with one unexpected result, said township zoning administrator Chris Harkness. When the township economic development committee first began discussing the idea last fall, the hope was to use the program to promote an Etna Township identity by giving residents and businesses the choice of using Etna or the traditional city address, such as Pataskala or Reynoldsburg. In either case, the ZIP code remains the same. “The post office told us both addresses would be valid and you could continue to use either one, but the preferred last line would be Etna, so that would be the default,” Harkness said. Until June 14, officials believed that addresses would not change unless the addressees took the affirmative step of changing their address. It appears, however, that many companies that send regular mailings, such as utility companies and banks, are somehow using a post-office database to prepare bills and other mailings, so that the preferred last line is being used even if the addressee has not taken steps to change the address. “People are starting to get mail addressed as Etna,” Harkness said. “We’re finding companies are linked into the post-office database, so that their addresses for customers are changing automatically to the default, which is Etna. I’m not sure how that is happening so fast (without action by the resident).” Harkness said he was worried when two people contacted him on the same day, but since then, no one else has raised the issue. “The two calls I had gotten are the only two,” Harkness said. “I’m going to look into it and see if there is anything we can do, to see what is going on
The Licking Heights school board met in a special meeting June 30 to approve a yearending appropriation resolution for fiscal year 2011, which closed June 30, and a temporary appropriation to begin the fiscal year 2012, which began July 1. A permanent appropriation will be approved in October, after the school year begins and contracts are in place for the year. “This is for audit purposes, to make sure everything ties up,” said treasurer Jennifer Vanover. “The temporary appropriation allows me to make payroll in July and pay bills. If we did not have it, I would not be able to spend any money.” Board member Richard Wand said the action was a legal requirement, which would be reviewed by the state auditor. “We have to approve appropriations before the end of the fiscal year,” Wand said. Vanover said the district has several different actions that make up the budget, depending on the management purpose being served. Initial appropriations constitute the legal authorization to spend money, while the final appropriation conforms the budget to what was actually expended. In addition, the district prepares a fiveyear forecast each spring and fall, which is required by state law, that reports district spending in greater detail. For the past three years, Vanover has prepared a more detailed statement of generalfund expenditures that, although not required under law, helps Vanover and board mem-
By Eric George/ThisWeek
(Above) State fire marshal investigator Jeff Koehn helps Tristan Watson, 5, of Pataskala, aim a hose during the State Fire Marshal Fire Safety Expo & Muster on June 25 at the Ohio Fire Academy in Reynoldsburg. (Right) The event featured everything from a 19th-century horsedrawn fire engine to the most modern equipment.
See ETNA, page A2
See LICKING HEIGHTS, page A2
Pataskala
Multi-use trail expected to be completed by September By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers The city of Pataskala is on schedule to build a nearly one-mile multi-use trail, the “Cross Town Line,” that will link the Bright Water and Pataskala Ridge subdivisions. The construction cost of the project is paid for by a grant from the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources, said Dianne Harris, city planning and zoning director. The construction cost is about $190,000, while the city is responsible for another $40,000 or so in engineering costs. “We’re hoping to get the design work finished up, get the project out to bid in July and have construction under
way in August,” Harris said. The trail will include the city’s second bridge over a creek for a multi-use path. Harris said the trail will be constructed in an environmentally friendly manner and will be paved with asphalt or compacted aggregate materials. Some changes to the path have been
made because of the difficulty in obtaining easements, but Harris said the city had found alternative paths. Generally, the path will follow the contours of the South Fork Creek through Municipal Park and near a small tract of wetlands and farm fields. It will include access to Hazelton Crossing Retail Center, Pataskala Ridge and the southern parts of Old Village Pataskala.
Harris said the project represents the first of multiple phases of a larger trail development effort. “We’re definitely very early in the process (of completing a comprehensive citywide trail system),” she said. “We’ll look for whatever grant support we can find to make connections beSee MULTI-USE TRAIL, page A2
County health officials say cases of West Nile Virus are not common By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers Following recent news reports about positive tests for West Nile Virus in mosquito populations in Franklin County, Licking County officials have reported only one positive test in May from among 70 traps set around the county. “We’ve had one positive (test) in the county, in May, and since then, we’ve had none,” said Chad Brown, director of community health for the Licking County Health Department. “Typically, we’ll find it every year. This year it was earlier than normal, but it was a very wet spring.” Brown said the county has not had any recent human infections. “It’s been a few years,” Brown said. “I can say we have not had anyone test (positive) for it for at least three years. It’s becoming less common (for people to contract the disease). I know we’ve had some in the coun-
ty, but not since 2008.” Brown said mosquito populations in Licking County are tested frequently all summer. “We set traps throughout the county, just about on a daily basis,” Brown said. “We set them in the evening, because mosquitoes come out at night, then we collect them in the morning and we send them over to the Ohio Department of Health in Reynoldsburg for testing. We run them over.” Brown said most county and municipal health departments use the state for testing. “They do get overwhelmed and they can lag behind in getting results,” Brown said. “In the beginning here, it’s been about a month (to get results). As we go along, it will drop down to about a week (for results). They tend to get bombarded from health departments early on and then it dies off.”
Summer games
Westerville Special Olympian Erin Moore (left) and West Licking Warriors Special Olympian Malayna Pelegreen embrace before entering Ohio Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games on June 24.
See WEST NILE, page A8
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By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
The 2011 Special Olympics Ohio Summer Games were held June 24-26 at various locations in the Columbus area. To view a multimedia presentation on opening day, visit ThisWeekNews.com.
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